All posts by derekmos

The Urgent Threat of Lead Poisoning in the COVID-19 Era: A Renewed Call for Action

11:20-11:50am Concurrent Paper Session A

Leah Bartlo (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98430995846?pwd=QjFuL2NHRlNtRHcwVUNRSjRRSXhsdz09

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood blood lead levels in the United States may not be known for some time, but there is serious cause for concern that the severity and frequency of lead poisoning is being exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic as children spend increased time indoors in homes with lead hazards and in-person visits with pediatricians and routine blood lead screenings have decreased dramatically. It is critically important that we reevaluate our response to lead poisoning in the COVID-19 era, in particular the potential for educational interventions to mitigate the impact of lead on the learning and behavior of young children. In the April 2015 report, Educational Interventions for Children Affected by Lead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention convened an expert panel that outlined current scientific understanding of the effects of lead on young children and described key actions that could be taken to support improved outcomes for lead-exposed children. The report noted major gaps in our understanding of the efficacy of interventions to mitigate the damage of lead and called on institutions to engage in research to address these gaps. This review examines whether any such research has been published on this topic since the CDC report and explores early indicators of the pandemic’s impact on lead poisoning. No research could be located on this topic since the CDC report calling for such work was made public in 2015. Additionally, early indicators suggest the pandemic is likely worsening the longstanding lead poisoning problem in the US, as millions of children are spending increased time indoors in homes with lead hazards amid lockdowns and school closures, and fewer children are being tested and linked to critical services. This paper concludes with a renewed call for action to address the urgent threat of lead poisoning on learning and behavior in children in the COVID-19 era.

Academic Research Libraries, Academic Capitalism, and Public Good(s): New Infrastructure for Knowledge

11:20-11:50am Concurrent Paper Session A

Melissa Hubbard (Educational Leadership and Policy)

Zoom Link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98338792973?pwd=cE54RGlMTFZpOTVteVR3bGhLOTR2dz09

For the past several decades, the role of higher education as a public and/or private good in United States (US) society has been a matter of significant discussion and debate in research and policy communities (Kezar, 2004; Kezar et al., 2005; McMahon, 2009; Pasque, 2010). This discussion often focuses on the question of funding higher education: if the institution is primarily a private good for those who obtain degrees, then it should be funded by those individuals; if it is primarily a public good that benefits all of US society, then it should be funded publicly through taxation (Kezar, 2004; Kezar et al., 2005; McMahon, 2009). There has been a significant shift over the past fifty years, from thinking of higher education in the US as primarily a public good, toward thinking of it as primarily a private good (Gildersleeve, et al., 2010; Giroux, 2014; Kezar, 2004; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004). This changing relationship between higher education and society has led to practical changes within the industry, the consequences of which include decreased funding for instruction, increased commercialization of academic research, and the corporatization of higher education management with an associated decline in faculty governance (Bok, 2004; Kezar, 2004; Slaughter & Leslie, 1997; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004). How has the privatization and marketization of higher education impacted academic libraries, which have traditionally been spaces that disseminate scholarly knowledge to the general public? Slaughter and Rhoades (2004) argued that one of the consequences of what they call  academic capitalism  has been the systemic defunding of academic libraries.

The Power of Peers: Assessing How Universities Leverage their Power through Peer-Mentoring

11:20-11:50am Concurrent Paper Session A

Kubra Say and Giambattista Davis (Educational Leadership and Policy)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98272238661?pwd=dUNOeUprYlhtNHRFYzlCMFViYWh0UT09

Background

Mentoring programs are one of the services that colleges and universities commonly offer to support first-year students to facilitate their transition and integration into college (Venegas-Muggli et al., 2021). Tinto (1975) suggests that integration can occur in two ways, academically and socially. Mentoring programs serve as key constituents impacting students’ academic achievement and persistence (Flores & Estudillo, 2018; Sanchez et al., 2006).

Tinto’s (1975) attrition model describes how students show better academic outcomes when they feel more integrated into their college community. Mentees are anticipated to have higher academic performance and better school outcomes. The literature has found positive associations between peer-mentoring programs and different components of academic success, including better test grades (Chester et al., 2013; Rodger & Tremblay, 2003), higher GPA (Leidenfrost et al., 2014; Zaniewski & Reinholz, 2016), the number of failed/passed courses (Fox et al., 2010) and better persistence rate (Chester et al., 2013; Collings et al., 2014; Goff, 2011; Mangold et al., 2002).

Purpose

The University at Buffalo (UB) launched, in 2020, a peer-mentoring intervention for first-year, first-generation students to enhance their college outcomes. This peer-mentoring program aims to create new contacts at the University, build a sense of community, stay on track with the academic path, connect with resources, discuss issues and challenges, connect with faculty and staff on campus, and receive individualized support from a peer at the institution. Peer mentors are required to meet with their mentees at least four times each semester, and there are a variety of settings that can count for such meetings, for example, workshops on campus, and sessions journaling about one’s experience, then to be reported on surveys and assessments (Student Success Gateway, n.d). Considering the prior peer-mentoring evaluation studies and the significant impacts on the first-generation student population, this study will evaluate the effectiveness of UB’s peer-mentoring program and present preliminary findings of our evaluation research.

Significance

Peer-mentoring reinforces students’ academic and social growth, benefits their college integration, and improves college outcomes. However, previous research supports that the students identified as underprivileged, such as low-income, racially minoritized, or first-generation, tend to get more benefits and help from mentoring programs than non-participant peers (Flores & Estudillo, 2018). Focusing on the first-generation entering students, our study will help understand peer-mentoring programs’ impact on our specific target population. Our findings aim to contribute to the general knowledge of peer-mentoring, as well as inform researchers, fellow students, faculty, and administrators in higher education and student affairs.

Method

This study uses student-level data from the Office of Institutional Analysis (OIA) at UB between 2016-17-2021-22 academic years. To identify the effect of the peer-mentoring program on participants’ academic performance and retention outcomes, we employ difference-in-differences (DID) as an empirical method. This quasi-experimental method allows us to establish causal relationships between intervention and outcome variables (Furquim et al., 2020). We aim to estimate how the dependent variables would change over time before and after the intervention and evaluate the effectiveness of the peer-mentoring program.

The Nature and State of Practical Work in Science at Lagos State Public Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Case Study

1:30-2pm Concurrent Paper Session B

Adetola Salau (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98431286444?pwd=MUF6eTA4S213QnM3ZHg5RzVGVHRrQT09

The West African Examination Council syllabus (Alao & Gallagher, 1988) states that the objectives of studying science include understanding basic science concepts, gaining of laboratory skills, connecting science and industry with real-life situations (especially in terms of benefits and hazards), and acquiring the skills of critical and logical thinking. These objectives necessitate the need for practical work and experimentation within the science learning context that give meaning and significance to understanding science (Etiubon & Udoh, 2017). Given that laboratory skills and practical work in science are expected to be undertaken as part of the syllabus, according to Lunetta et al. (2007), practical work are learning experiences in which students interact with materials or with secondary sources of data to observe and understand the natural world.

This study investigated the nature and state of practical work in science education at a Lagos State Government public secondary school. The study documented how public senior secondary school science teachers plan for and enact practical work in science education. More specifically, this study focused on science teachers’ approaches, their perceptions of students’ work, the type of activities they conduct, the role of assessment they undertake, and the kinds of school supports that exist for them to engage teaching and learning of practical work.

The following research questions were addressed in the study: RQ1 – What are science teachers’ experiences with the teaching and learning of practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria? RQ2 – What kinds of school support are available to aid science teachers’ practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria? RQ3 – What are benefits and challenges of practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos State?

This exploratory case study followed an interpretive approach. The data sources included teacher interviews, classroom observations, and artefacts. The findings revealed that practical work involves a lot of improvisation, is teacher-centered and didactic, and lacks necessary scientific equipment to carry it out. The findings have implications for understanding the tensions of teachers’ knowledge versus their translation of practical work in science teaching and learning. It informs Nigeria’s reform efforts to prepare students for scientific critical thinking and future STEM-related careers.

Keywords-: practical work; inquiry-based learning; science process skills; science education

The effects of microaggressions on transgender and/or nonbinary undergraduate student performance

1:30-2pm Concurrent Paper Session B

Paige Altman (Information Science)

Zoom Link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/91428680141?pwd=VnhRU1g2aGZjU1pSUS9Fc096V2VSUT09

Microaggressions are subtle, degrading actions against individuals in marginalized communities. These actions sometimes occur without the actor’s knowledge, but aggressions place chronic stress on their victims which can lead to physical and mental health issues. Studying these actions and how they affect the daily lives of minority groups is crucial to creating awareness and stopping microaggressions completely. Transgender and nonbinary individuals have been neglected in research until recently, and even now there is not enough known about how their experiences with microaggressions differ from other groups. To understand the effects of microaggressions on transgender and/or nonbinary undergraduate student performance, this study will address Microaggression Theory, particularly the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Model, to analyze microaggressions against transgender and nonbinary students. This study will hypothesize that microaggressions against transgender and nonbinary students cause decreased academic performance resulting in lower grades and a reduced ability to learn, a greater likelihood of dropping out, and poor mental health. Data will be collected using survey research and semistructured interviews of transgender and nonbinary college and university students and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. Participants will be recruited through purposive and convenience sampling due to the nature of the special population. The survey will include the Anxiety Subscale and Depression Scale through the Brief Symptom Inventory as well as the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure which asks questions about microaggressions targeted specifically toward transgender and nonbinary individuals. Schools will be asked to distribute this anonymous online survey through email, links posted on their LGBTQIA+ organization’s/resource’s website, as well as flyers posted throughout campus. This will be a cross-sectional study conducted over one semester. Once the initial data is collected and analyzed, researchers will determine if the findings are successful. If successful, researchers will conduct longitudinal prospective repeated cross-sectional studies to gather more information and increase the validity and generalizability of the study. This study will be adding to existing theory by addressing the experiences of transgender and nonbinary students in contrast to many previously conducted studies that have limited their research to the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. Addressing the experiences of transgender and nonbinary students gives this group a voice which may also contribute additional microaggressions that could be added to previous theories and used in future research.

The Academic Playbook: Learning Strategies Utilized by Academic Coaches with Student-Athletes

1:30-2pm Concurrent Paper Session B

Melanie Bliz (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/97760007452?pwd=OEM1ODFqZElaSy9CU21vTzVqSHJKdz09

Many athletic departments have created academic mentoring or coaching programs to help student-athletes with skill enrichment, learning strategies and overall academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to discover the learning strategies used by academic coaches with student-athletes in an academic coaching program in a Division I athletics department at a research University located in the Northeast.  The study explores results from fifteen academic coaches who completed a mixed methods questionnaire. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Overall, academic coaches implement multiple learning strategies and can adapt strategies for the diverse learners on their caseload. The coaches identified ways in which they measured academic success with their mentees but were least confident in knowing if the learning strategies they implemented were effective. Implications suggest training academic coaches on how to assess to ensure strategies are successful. Considerations for future research and limitations are also provided. Guiding this study are the following research questions:

1.     How do academic coaches perceive their roles as an academic coach for student-athletes to become more independent learners?

2.     What strategies do the academic coaches utilize to promote student-athlete learning? This question aims to see types of pedagogies and pedagogical strategies the mentors have used.

3.     What are the potential barriers, if any, have they experienced when coaching student-athletes?

4.     How, if at all, did the learning strategies differ during face to face versus online coaching meetings?

Keywords: college student-athlete, academic mentoring, academic coaching, learning strategies, study skills, higher education

College Attainment: Policies and Obstacles

1:30-2pm Concurrent Paper Session B

GKristine Rosales and Giambattista Davis (Educational Leadership and Policy)
Erin Macdiarmid (Educational Leadership and Policy)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/99476713057?pwd=S2RqZ2tSZUQ4Sm5iWi96QTIwVjVkZz09

Abstract:

First-generation colleges students are a unique population of students on campus whose parents have not completed a 4-year degree. The literature describes how the potential risk faced by first generation students is greater due to the significant difference in experiences and needs that these students have. Institutions of higher education must evolve to be able to tailor their services and resources to help students, administrators, and faculty to be prepared to work with first-generation students. Students who are first-generation at times lack the guidance to navigate the environments and hidden curriculum of higher education thus resulting in higher drop out rates, longer times spend to graduate and less sense of community at the institution (Davis, 2010; Gofen, 2009; Ward et al., 2012). Ward et al. (2012) argued for the need for higher education to help first generation students in that “First-generation students need to be more visible to educators, and they require a unique support system to prosper and succeed in college,” (Ward et al., 2012, p. 3).

There is an increased awareness to the opportunities in assisting first-generation students in making the most out of their college experience, but institutions must welcome positive change that can affect these populations on campus. We intend to examine the relationship between family background, such as parental educational attainment and income, H.S. academic performance, SAT scores, with Time to Graduation and Employment/Salary 1-year post-graduation. Our theory is related to the first-generation college students from low-income households who will struggle more in their college performance.  As many colleges go through a decrease in enrollments and funding, important decisions are made in support services for students. We hope to make the case for the need to keep support services for those who may potentially struggle more and better understand the relationship between variables affecting the time it takes students to graduate and the job outlook they have the first year after graduation.  Utilizing the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, we intend to examine the Family Background, Parental Educational Attainment, Familial Income, Immigration Status, H.S. GPA, SAT scores effect on Post Graduation Employment Income and Time to graduation.  The data utilized will include Base Year (2002) , first Follow-up (2004),  Third Follow-up (2012), and Postsecondary Transcripts (2013) data.Rationale: As many colleges go through a decrease in enrollments and funding, important decisions are made in support services for students.

Abstract:

With the rising costs of higher education, states are creating tuition guarantee policies for students who enroll at state public institutions.  These policies are mitigating the cost of a four-year degree for middle income families, who previously may have sought out community colleges for an affordable start to higher education.  New York State introduced an income-based college scholarship to benefit middle class families in 2017 titled the Excelsior scholarship.  The Excelsior scholarship is a last dollar scholarship and can be used at any two or four-year public institution to fund the cost of tuition up to four years.  State operated financial aid programs in the form of grants, whether they be income based or merit based, positively impact student enrollment in higher education, but also might negatively impact enrollment trends at community colleges and non-selective private institutions.  This study aims to understand whether the Excelsior scholarship is negatively affecting NYS community college enrollment, as well as non-selective NYS private college enrollment.      

Research from other state income and merit-based grant programs demonstrate a price response to student enrollment decisions.  The New Mexico Lottery scholarship offers all residents a last dollar scholarship at any public institution of higher education if enrollment is initiated within sixteen months from graduation, and this scholarship led to a significant increase in minority and low-income student enrollment at the four-year state institutions (Binder & Ganderton, 2004).  The Indiana Twenty Century Scholars, an income-based program, this scholarship increased college access and enrollment at both state public and private institutions (St. John, 2004).  The Georgia HOPE scholarship, a merit-based scholarship, increased public college enrollment, but may have not increased college access as the scholarship did more to keep Georgia’s top students in the state (Conwell & Mustard, 2004). Finally, the Tennessee promise, offers state residents a last dollar scholarship at two-year institutions, resulting in an increase in enrollment at its two-year institutions (Meehan, Hagood, Callahan & Kent, 2019).  These state income and merit based financial aid programs increase the college going expectation among students and impact college enrollment; however, the enrollment at the institution is influence by the financial cost to the student. 

This study is an institutional level analysis of student enrollment trends in NYS over a ten-year period, specifically looking to see if the enrollment trends at two-year colleges and private non-selective institutions decrease after the introduction of the Excelsior scholarship in 2017.  A fixed effects analysis will be conducted, controlling for the effect of time due to the pandemic of 2020.  NYS public, private, four-year, and two-year student enrollment data from the years of 2010 through 2021 will be reviewed using the variables of year, applications, enrollment, sector, and tuition.  In NYS it is expected that the enrollment patterns over the ten-year period will follow a parallel trajectory up until the introduction of the Excelsior scholarship, it is at that point we anticipate the enrollment pattern at NYS community colleges and non-selective private colleges will decrease.  To serve as a control for our study, the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be included in our analysis.  These states share similarities in higher education to NYS, and it is expected their enrollment patterns will continue on the same trajectory throughout the ten-year period.     

Charter School Teacher Perceptions of College Readiness

2:15-2:45pm Concurrent Paper Session C

Alexandria Mahon (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98568301728?pwd=eHZyN2xjR2RoR1NYTFNJbmw1NmJyUT09

This study examined 15 New York City Charter School teacher’s perceptions of the phenomenon of college-readiness through interviews conducted during Spring 2021. The combined perceptions indicate that student effort, study skills, interpersonal skills, college-level coursework, and reading and writing skills are top components of college readiness and are achieved through rigor, project-based learning, collaboration and discussion, the incorporation of reading, writing and research skills, as well as classroom systems promoting student ownership. Yet, teachers identified impediments to achieving college readiness, including societal factors, availability of opportunities, rigor, reading fluency, student ownership, and competing understandings of college readiness within school systems.

LGBTQ+ Pride & Daily Challenges: Intersecting Marginalized Identities

Uncategorized

Nathalie Velasco (Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology)

This session has been withdrawn.

Of the many socially marginalized groups in our society, LGBTQ+ persons of color (LGBTQ+ POC) experiences of discrimination are magnified as a result of intersecting marginalized identities. LGBTQ+ individuals continuously and disproportionally face abuse, violence, harassment, and discrimination leading to greater psychological distress, poorer well-being and the highest rates of suicidal attempts among marginalized groups (Dickey & Budge, 2020; Woulfe & Goodman, 2019). Given the surge in social justice issues over the past years and that gender and sexual minorities of color remain significantly underrepresented in scholarly studies expanding on the mental health of marginalized groups, this study aims to add on to the literature by examining the daily experiences of violence faced by LGBTQ+ POC and identifying their coping mechanisms, individual and community characteristics of resiliency. The marginalized intersecting identities of LGBTQ+ POC play a key role in the greater violence and hate crimes committed against them (Nadal, Davidoff, Davis, & Wong, 2014). The limited existing research on this population focuses on the psychological outcomes stemming from social stigma and the systematic oppressive systems that reinforce a gender binary society, noting early experiences of discrimination and violence occurring in the family home as a consequence of gender non-conforming identity development and expression (Nadal et al., 2014; Koken, Bimbi, & Parsons, 2009). There are very few studies that have adopted a strengths-based approach in the expansion of knowledge on LGBTQ+ persons in general with existing research noting protective factor disparities favoring White samples when compared to counterparts of color among sexual minorities (Ghabrial & Andersen, 2020). By shifting the focus of research to individual, social, and community characteristics and protective factors demonstrated by this population, practitioners can work with LGBTQ+ POC from a strengths-based perspective rather than clinically emphasizing deficits, which will likely perpetuate oppression and lead to negative health and psychological outcomes. This study uses a qualitative research methods approach in the form of focus groups in order to gather detailed and first-person perspectives on the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ POC.

A total of eleven individuals completed participation in this study. This study is currently in the analysis phase with expected data results and implications to be obtained by the first week of March 2022.

“The American Dream”: Benchmarking excellence in inclusive higher education

2:15-2:45pm Concurrent Paper Session C

Abdalsslam Abdalla (Educational Leadership and Policy)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/97650092184?pwd=M0cwSWlGZHRhZDBLZityaVd5QlBSdz09

For decades, the empire of higher education has seen a growth in international student mobility toward the U.S. as their top destination, along with other transnational activities that together feature the internationalizing trends in postsecondary education globally and in the U.S. Undoubtedly, international students as assets to the host institutions and broader communities have continued to make cultural, academic, and economic contributions. Without a systemic reform for aspiring “global” campuses to transform the environments, however, the growing international student mobility has left various challenges to higher education institutions with missions and goals to lead the world and become globally inclusive. Often disconnect remains between the actual policies and practices and the aspirations to enhance the higher education environments to integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion into their missions, goals, student support programming and services, and campus climate (Lee et al., 2021).

Grounded in ecological perspectives, the multiple qualitative case studies intend to answer the quest to benchmark and actualize inclusive excellence in international higher education in the U.S. and to contribute to literature that can guide for college engagement and success varied stakeholders including higher education administrators, student affairs professionals, academic faculty, and students. This project employs content analysis of policies and practices of institutions regarded as “global” leaders and analyses of semi-structured interviews of student participants in a “global” campus. Findings of this ongoing project intend to be transferred in ways to assess and transform existing environments to better support the international population and also their allies.